3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Friday 10/22/21

In daily fantasy hockey, stacking is a key strategy in tournaments. We want to correlate our lineups with up to four players to maximize our upside, as if one player on a line is scoring goals, it's likely that his linemates are getting assists as well. Ideally, we'll want players that will get a lot of ice time together on an even strength line and a power play line. Two good resources for line combinations are LeftWingLock.com and DailyFaceoff.com, so be sure to check those sites for updated line information.

We head into the weekend with four games on a Friday that starts an hour earlier than normal. Some of the most fun teams to stack are on this slate, so let's look at three of the best.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs had their full lineup available for the first time on Monday, and they scored just one goal in a loss. However, they dominated the underlying numbers in that game, recording 3.13 expected goals. They're in an even better spot on Friday night and should be able to turn those expected goals into actual goals.

It was the season debut for Auston Matthews ($8,800) on Monday, and he tried hard to start the season with a goal. He put eight shots on goal on 16 shot attempts, and if he does that again, he's likely to score a goal or two. Mitch Marner ($7,500) hasn't gotten going yet, but if Matthews starts putting the puck in the net, Marner is likely to get some points, as well. Nick Ritchie ($4,100) continues to skate with the top line and should have opportunities to score while playing there.

The Leafs will face the San Jose Sharks, who come into the game with three wins to start the season. They have looked better in the early stages of the year, but this is still mostly the same team that allowed the second-most goals in the league last season and is now on the second half of a back-to-back.

The Leafs have the highest implied total on tonight's slate. Since this is the case, Morgan Rielly ($6,200) is a player to consider using as the fourth man in a stack. He has three assists in four games to go along with 12 shots on goal. Toronto is due for a big game, and this could be the spot for it to happen.

Boston Bruins

A weird scheduling quirk has seen the Boston Bruins play just two games thus far in the season, while other teams have played up to five. They've been a bit lost in the shuffle because of this and have yet to be totally relevant in daily fantasy. That certainly changes tonight, as they are one of the best stacks on the board.

For years now, Boston's "Perfection Line" has been a stacking target on nearly almost slate they play on. The line of Patrice Bergeron ($7,000), Brad Marchand ($8,700) and David Pastrnak ($8,200) has been dominant in nearly every aspect when they are on the ice together. Marchand has been the standout player so far this season, with three goals in two games. Pastrnak has typically been the shooter on this line, and he does has nine shots in the first two games to go along with two assists. Bergeron has been slow out of the gate but should get going as long as this line is clicking.

The new power-play quarterback this season is Charlie McAvoy ($6,500). He's been a great five-on-five defenseman over the years and now gets his chance with the man advantage. He put up two assists in their second game and had five shots on goal in the first, so he's certainly a player you can add to this stack.

The Bruins will play the surprising Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Buffalo has won all three of their games, shocking the people who projected them as one of the worst teams in the league. This will be Buffalo's toughest test yet by far, as their victories over the Montreal Canadiens, Arizona Coyotes and Vancouver Canucks really aren't too indicative of what this team can be.

Boston could put the Sabres back in their place tonight, and the Bruins are a great stacking option,

Los Angeles Kings

It may be surprising that the Edmonton Oilers are not the third stack on the list given how well they've been playing. While the Oilers are in play on every slate, this isn't nearly as good of a matchup as they've had in their past two games, as they are on a back-to-back facing the Vegas Golden Knights. So we're going to go with the Los Angeles Kings, as their top line has been hot to start the season, as well.

The Kings needed some new blood in their lineup to get them back into contention, and it seems to have rejuvenated their first line.

Anze Kopitar ($8,300) had a hat trick in the season opener and also scored in each of the next two games. His five goals and eight points only trail Connor McDavid, and he's played one fewer game. The new blood on the first line has come in the form of Viktor Arvidsson ($5,300), who has a point and five shots on goal in two of his first three games as a King. Arvidsson will hope to get back to his 2018-19 form in which he scored 34 goals in just 58 games before the Nashville Predators started having offensive issues. Dustin Brown ($4,900) will also look to get back to his best, and three points in three games is a good start for him.

The other player on the Kings who has seen a rejuvenation has been Drew Doughty ($6,100). The narrative around Doughty headed into the season was that he would be motivated to try to make the Canadian Olympic team. If that narrative has any validity, it's certainly been working as Doughty has seven points in the first three games of this campaign. He joins the top line on the power play to form a nicely correlated top unit.

LA will certainly go under the radar tonight even with it being a four-game slate. They are a bit more affordable than the other two stacks I wrote up, allowing you to fit in some nice players around them and a goalie who you can feel good about.

Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.